According to Hoorweg’s law, when a nerve is stimulated by discharges from an electrical condenser of capacitance C, the electric energy required to elicit a minimal response (a muscle contraction) is given by

where a, b, and R are positive constants.

a. For what value of C is the energy E(C) minimized? How do you know you have found the minimum value? (Your answer will be in terms of a, b, and R.)

b. Another model for E has the form E(C) = mCe^k/C where m and k are constants. What must m and k be for the two models to have the same minimum value for the same value of C?

Transcribed Image Text:

= c(aR E(C) = C + 2 b C